Black, David Alan. The Jesus Paradigm. Energion Publications (August 3, 2009). Pp. 180

Everyone of has a paradigm. It may have been shaped by our parents, our culture, our friends, our environment, and even more importantly our “religion”. A paradigm is a pattern or an example serving as a model. For example many people have a paradigm for love. This paradigm could be shaped by numerous things. Our parents relationship, television, maybe some steamy romance model, or again it could have been shaped by one’s religion. Dave Black sets out in this work to talk about the “Jesus Paradigm” and as disciples of Christ what other paradigm should we have?

In the introduction Dave Black sets forward this paradigm very clearly. You don’t have to think about, wonder about it, it isn’t top secret, it isn’t elusive it is simply the “radical and sacrificial love” that Jesus put on display during His earthly ministry. Here is how he puts it on page 7.

There is, I am convinced, a better way. It is what I calling the “Jesus Paradigm”. The expresion alludes to the way Jesus concluded his earthly ministry. he washed his disciples’ feet and then said, “I have given you an example (paradigm) so that you may copy what I have done” (John 13:15). This is the way Jesus sought to glorify his Father. It is the exact opposite of our human way. We seek glory by moving upward. Jesus chose the way of downward mobility, through suffering for us. Whenever he speaks about being glorified-being “lifted up”- he always refers to his death. it was through the cross that Jesus glorified his Father and made know God’s glory to us.

The rest of the book is simply this paragraph flushed out. On page 10, Dave coins a term that I really enjoy but rarely do I obey it. It is called the “cruciform lifestyle”. He defines it as:

By “cruciform” I mean that the cross is the hermeneutical key to understanding the revelation of God in Christ. It is the cross that we find so offensive today . The “crucified God” stands in judgement on America’s theologia gloriae -  “theology of glory”…..

In chapter 2 Dave moves into the effect of the Jesus Paradigm on the Church. He says on page 18:

Our image of a successful church is one that incorporates a hard-working paid staff, a large and expanding membership, a growing budget, and a multiplicity of programs…… The patterns we are led to in the book of Acts indicate a vastly different focus, form, and function. The church is simply a group of radical Jesus-followers ministering to each other sacrificially and reaching the community about them with the Gospel in word and deed.

Also in chapter 2 he contrasts Christendom with Christ. Most think these two are synonymous but they are not. Christendom is a toxic retardation of what the Chrsitian Faith really is about. It as far from Chrsitianity as Racism is to Love. He does a great job of recapturing the heart of the Anabaptist and their simple commitment to the priesthood of believers, disciple making through the Gospel and Good Works even in the face of martyrdom. He moves into Chapter 3 quite fluidly again expounding upon the “Radical Reformation” of the Anabaptist. The Anabaptist did not just promote correct theology or a.k.a. “Orthodoxy”, their “Orthodoxy” was proven by their radical commitment to all things Christ. This meant instead of joining the State, the Anabaptist allowed the State to do what it did but they were to proclaim the Gospel, instead of picking up a sword to promote and perpetuate Christianity they took on the “form of a servant” and instead of making a Christian caste system they believed that all believers were brothers with a Senior Pastor named “Jesus Christ”.

In Chapters 4-5 Mr. Black continues to show how radical discipleship and the priesthood of believers will mature the church and make committed disciples of Christ and that this was the heartbeat of Jesus. Matthew 23 is to be taken quite literally “you are all brothers”. Mr. Black moves into chapter 6 to discuss America’s love with politics and how this antithetical to the “Jesus Paradigm”. We are not to be caught up in the worldly affairs, attempting to bring the kingdom through our political alignment! No! We are to disarm the powers to be with loving, self-sacrificial, servant-hood, this was the way of Jesus and the early disciples and they turned the greatest empire upside down by modeling the Lord Jesus.

Chapter 7 deserves its own paragraph, here is the practical outworking of the Jesus Paradigm. This chapter alone is worth the price of the book, because here is the Jesus Paradigm put in motion. The Kingdom is upside-down, whatever the world clings to Jesus tells us to let go of it, whatever the world loves pursues and die for, we are to die for the exact opposite. In this chapter Mr. Black talks about unity and cooperative work between denominations and churches and how this is the unity Jesus prayed for in John 17. He talks about hospitality as a way to serve and build the kingdom of God and finally he asks “How is Your Serve”. Here he talks about our willingness to sacrifice for others both are time and treasure and this is the most challenging chapter for me as an individual Christian, especially when we see the lack of equity amongst Christians and the exact opposite in the Book of Acts.

I highly recommend this work. Dave Black sets out to show us that Jesus’ Paradigm isn’t what the world deems valuable. For us Christians (disciples/followers) we have to sit down with our ledger and attempt to reconcile it with Jesus’ commands, wherever there is a variance we are to fix it. Much of what Dr. Black talks about will have to come through the grace of Jesus; however, Jesus himself says “whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you”. That is when we ask with His heartbeat, mostly I have asked with my own. Thanks Dave for a wonderful challenge.